We begin with the basic building blocks of Manx, the alphabet and some fundamentals of pronunciation. Though it has existed since the 13th century as a distinct language, Manx was not set down in written form until 1610. John Phillips, the Bishop of Sodor and Mann, translated the „Book of Common Prayer“ into Manx using Welsh orthography. Since 1985, the Coonceil ny Gaelgey (or Manx Gaelic Advisory Council) has been regulating the orthography and spelling of Manx.

The Manx alphabet is the same Latin alphabet that English uses, minus the two letters „x“ and „z“, which can still occasionally be found in loan words. The letters all have traditional names in Manx. Since it is a fair assumption that everyone who can speak Manx can speak English as well, you do not need to worry about learning the traditional Manx names of the letters. Still, if you truly want to learn the language, taking the time to learn the letters' names is well worth it.

Pronunciation in Manx is rather easier than the other Celtic languages. Manx is a phonetic language, meaning that it is spoken the same way it is written. There are though some vowels that tend to be silent which can be found in diphthongs. Since the orthography of Manx was greatly influenced by English, we tend to see very similar pronunciation rules in Manx as we would see in English.

The consonants are pronounced the same as they are in English. There are, however, a few differences. Let's have a look at those consonants and combinations which differ from English.

Consonant

English sound

English example

c

k

computer

cc

g

magma (middle of word)

ch

kh

scottish loch *

çh

ch

change

dd, tt

th

thing (middle of word)

g

g

garage

gh

ch

scottish loch *

ght

ch

scottish loch + t *

qu

k

Iraq

rr

r

trilled

ss

z

zebra

th

t

today

* The sounds, CH, GH, and GHT are guttural sounds and common within the Celtic languages. This type of sound is also encountered in Arabic, Hebrew, German Germanic languages like German, Dutch and Afrikaan and Slavic languages like Polish and Russian.

Diphthongs might be the only real challenge in Manx pronunciation. A diphthong is a new sound made by combining two vowels, and the results are occasionally unpredictable.

Diphthong

English example

aa, ea

Manx

ee

peace

oo

moon

ae, ai

rain

ay, ei

Manx

aew

sound

eu

music

ia

yonder

ie

lie

oi

ear

ou

sound

ui

liquid

Yindyssagh! You have taken your first steps toward learning Manx. This guide should be referred to frequently when trying to read Manx on your own to learn how to pronounce words and get a better understanding of the language.

Before we move on to our first lesson, it is important to know the name of the language you are beginning to study. The name of Manx is Gaelg. Can you try to say this? Actually, if you say it quickly, it should sound like a word you have heard many times before!